


Starry Sky

by orphan_account



Category: Game Grumps
Genre: Also there's a slight song fic thing going on here and I'm not sorry, Do not hold me accountable if you do fall asleep at work and get fired, Fluff, Just warning you in case if you get flashbacks to badly written song fics from 2010, Lucid Dreaming, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-03
Updated: 2015-01-03
Packaged: 2018-03-05 03:31:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,803
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3103889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A cautionary tale of falling asleep in your office and accidentally sleep talking. Well, not really cautionary. If anything, this fic encourages you to fall asleep at your work desk, but that is not recommended.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Starry Sky

It was a balmy night, and Ross was lying face up and spread out in a field in the middle of Who Knows Where, staring at the night sky above him. Hundreds, no, thousands of shimmering stars laid scattered across the cerulean hued sky, and a mighty cream coloured cloud-like band arched over in the center of the sky, right over Ross’ lying form.

A warm breeze passed over Ross, rustling the grass and distant surrounding trees, and fireflies rose seemingly out of nowhere, their glowing bodies blinking and flickering, and they flew over and around Ross, one even landing on his cheek before continuing on its merry way.

This was too beautiful and surreal to be real.

He must be dreaming.

‘Pretty, huh?’

Ross turned his head to see Dan lying beside him with a smile on his handsome face. He had seemingly appeared out of nowhere as well, and when Ross looked carefully enough, he looked a little fuzzy around the edges.

A breath left Ross’ lips. ‘Which part?’

Dan’s smile grew, and his head turned to look at the sky above them. His voice was soft. ‘The fireflies, the sky, the fact that we’re stargazing in the middle of nowhere...’ He pauses, then turns back to Ross. ’You.’

Ross smiles a sad smile, and his gaze falls. ‘Dan?’

‘Yeah?’

‘I’m dreaming, aren’t I?’

Dan answers his question by smiling all the more.

Ross’ smile disappears, and he looks back up to the beautiful night sky laid above them, partly obscured by the glowing fireflies hovering above and around them. 

This was all so dazzling, and to say that it disappointed Ross that it was only a dream would be a total understatement.

Yet, at the same time, there were amazing things you could achieve in dreams you couldn’t achieve in real life, big or small.

Ross turned back to Dan, who was looking back up at the night sky. ‘Hey, Danny?’

Dan nodded his head a little in recognition, and it takes Ross a moment to ready himself, despite knowing that he was dreaming.

‘I love you.’

Dan’s head turned back to Ross. His smile was back. ‘I know.’

‘Really?’

‘Ever since we first met, I’ve known.’

Ross’ gaze falters. That wasn’t true, he knew that. He knew his subconscious was manipulating this Dan to be the Dan Ross craved for.

But he could play pretend for now.

Ross’ eyes flick back up to Dan’s own. ‘Do you love me?’

Dan grinned, and although no words left him, Ross knew his answer.

Ross turned back to the starry sky once more. ‘Danny.’

Still no words, but now, Ross could sort of sense Dan’s taking his hand in his own.

‘I don’t want this dream to end,’ Ross spoke quietly.

‘... Me neither, Ross. Dreams are amazing. You can do so much in them that you can’t in real life.’

Ross actually remembers the real Dan telling him that after he revealed to him that he had that ability to lucid dream.

‘But you can’t keep dreaming forever. Otherwise, nothing would get done. And fantasy is great, but if you can make it into reality, you should give it a shot, because reality feels a hundred times better and doesn’t leave you feeling dissatisfied and empty like some fantasies do.’

Dan was always good at motivational speeches, unlike Ross, who had great difficulty forming basic sentences coherently. It was one of many traits Dan had that Ross envied.

The fireflies were now slowly disappearing to wherever they had came from, the breeze was dying down, and Ross could see the stars slowly fading away, like lights being turned off. His time was limited. ‘You’re right,’ Ross murmured. He turned to Dan, who was the only one in this fantasy land that was still fully there. ‘I’ll… Try to confess, one day.’

Dan blinked, his smile never leaving his face, and Ross grinned, more to himself than Dan. He looked down at their interlocking fingers. ‘Who am I kidding? I don’t even have the guts to answer the phone when it rings.’

The last thing Ross remembers before the world faded to black was the sound of Dan’s laughter.

-

If you couldn’t tell by now, Ross has a bit of a crush on Dan.

And, like dream Danny had said, he’s sort of had a crush on him since he first met him in person.

Ross can clearly recall the day he met Dan. It had been a year or so since he first discovered Ninja Sex Party on YouTube, and when you find gold, you share it, so Ross told Arin about this cool and funny comedy band he found on the interwebs, which led to Arin donating more than enough money to save Ninja Sex Party, which then led to him, Arin and a few others to meet up with Dan and Brian in person in New York.

After Arin had made his introduction and many thanks were given to him by the comedy duo, it was Ross’ turn to introduce himself, which he did very awkwardly, stumbling and tripping on his words until he somehow conveyed to Dan that he was a very big fan of Ninja Sex Party.

Dan had laughed and took Ross’ hand to give him a firm handshake. ‘Nice to meet you, Ross. Were you were the one that introduced Arin to us?’

Ross nodded, attempting to mutter a confirmation of some sort, and Dan shot him a smile brighter and warmer than the sun itself. ‘Well, thank you! So much! I actually brought a few of our albums here. You wanna have a free signed copy, or-’

Ross cut him short, replying eagerly that yes he would absolutely love a signed copy for free oh my God dude thank you so much, and Dan laughed at his enthusiasm, and Ross laughed back, no longer feeling weak at the knees.

Dan patted him on the shoulder. ‘Hey man, if you ever have a project and you want us to be part of it, or you wanna work with us, give us a ring, yeah?’

Ross nodded giddily. ‘Yeah, yeah! Will do.’

By the short time Dan had moved over from Ross to Barry, Ross had decided that yes, he absolutely needed to rope this man into a project of his, and that project would turn out to be-

‘Hey, Ross.’

Startled, Ross’ head snapped over to the side, a dazed look written on his face.

Dan, in all his puffy haired, plaid short glory, was leaning back in his leather chair, mug of tea in left hand and pencil in right. He grinned. ‘You alright there?’

Ross puffed and went back to scrolling his Twitter feed. ‘Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?’

‘You were staring into space for a long time there.’

Ross shrugged. ‘I was thinking.’

Dan laughed at this. He took a sip from his mug. ‘You? Thinking? That’s a first.’

‘Shut up,’ Ross mumbled.

First falling asleep in the office, and now daydreaming? Ross was totally out of it today.

The sound of pencil scratching against paper and muffled background chatter between the other grumps followed for a while, before Dan spoke up again.

‘Hey, Ross?’

‘Mm?’

Dan’s voice is a little hesitant. ‘Do you… Usually talk in your sleep?’

Oh, God.

Ross turned to Dan, who was looking at him carefully. ‘No,’ he yelped. ‘Why, was I talking?’

Dan nodded. ‘Yeah.’

‘... Whaaaat did I say?’

Dan shrugs a little and slurps from his mug before going to erase a mistake he made. ‘Kinda hard to tell. You were mumbling something that didn’t make any sense whatsoever. It was like you were possessed.’

Ross held himself from breathing a sigh of relief. ‘So you didn’t understand anything I said?’

‘Nope.’

Ross half smiles and turns back to his computer monitor. ‘Huh, that’s weird. I’ve never talked in my sleep before, I don’t think.’

There’s another silence between them, but this time the air between the two feels a little stiff.

‘Do you remember what you were dreaming about?’

You.

Ross shruged. ‘No, not really,’ he lied.

‘Nothing at all?’

Ross turned away from Dan, a sick feeling working its way up his chest.

Dan couldn’t read his mind, right? So Ross could get away with telling a white lie, right?

‘Um, like, I was in a field full of fireflies and the sky was super starry, um, like my background, see?’ Ross clicked on the minimize button on his Chrome window, showing Dan his galaxy wallpaper for his desktop. He turned to Dan, trying to connect with his eyes but not quite making it. ‘It was really pretty, but all I remember doing is being there.’

Dan narrowed his eyes. ‘So you didn’t talk?’

‘I can’t remember if I did. Sorry.’

Dan nodded slowly and took a sip out of his mug before turning back to the work on his desk. ‘I see. Just a little curious, sorry.’

Ross’ gaze lowered, and he swivelled his chair back to his computer.

One day, he was going to confess and pour his heart out to Dan, for sure.

Today, however, is not that day.

-

Ross loves so many things about Dan. Not everything. The man thought it was acceptable to wear plaid over a t-shirt (it wasn’t,) and he wished Dan would stop picking on his sense of humour (it really wasn’t that bad.) But he loved a lot about Danny.

He loved his poofy, deflated ‘fro that looked like it had been combed by the leg of a chair. He loved his bony wrists, his weird clubbed thumbs, his long, scrawny legs, and he loved the dark circles that hung under his eyes; they reminded Ross of a panda, and pandas were cute, and so was Danny. Danny was cute. His smile was cute. His laugh was cuter, and Dan laughing at his own fucking joke was the cutest.

The part of him Ross liked the most, however, was how he kinda sorta clicked with Ross in some ways. They both like French based music, they both hated horror, and they agreed that animals were the most precious things in the world.

And Ross liked this because he could agree with Dan on so many things, yet it left enough room to still discuss and debate about other things and keep Dan interesting.

So why should talking about his feelings be so difficult? The worst thing that could possibly happen is Dan rejecting him and ending their friendship and never wanting to see his face again.

Ross hiccupped and jumped when the music streaming into his ears was replaced by the sound of his ringtone. He picked up his phone from his lap, glaring at the screen.

Danny was calling him.

He hiccuped again. Why now, at all times? It was early morning. Like, really early morning. Like, it was midnight more than an hour ago.

At the same time, he shouldn’t be complaining too much. Danny was calling him, after all, and in Ross’ opinion, he didn’t call nearly enough.

Ross tapped the “answer” button shakily with his thumb and raised the mic of his earbuds to his mouth. ‘Ahhahehuhh?’

Dan’s laughter filled his ears, followed by his slightly distorted voice. ‘Ross, what the hell? Is that how you answer the phone?’

Ross puffed and leaned back into his bed. ‘Yeah, always, especially when it’s something past one o’clock in the morning. No, I’m kidding, I never answer my phone.’

‘Seriously?’

‘Oh yeah, absolutely. I make everyone leave a message, and then I decide if I call them back or not. But you’re the only exception. Do you feel special, Danny?’

Dan laughed a little more. ‘Yeah, sure, I guess.’

‘So is there any particular reason why you called me, or?’

‘Just wanted to say hi.’

Ross smiled. ‘Oh?’

‘Hi.’

‘Hi, Dan.’

The two of them laughed at how silly this situation was, and Ross rolled over to the right to look at the alarm clock beside his bed. Thirty seven past one. He rubbed at his eyes before holding the mic back up to his mouth. ‘Dan, it’s late, you should be sleeping.’

‘Uh, uh! I, I wanted to talk to you about something, actually.’

Calling him at this time in the morning just to tell him something? This must’ve been the bombshell of the century.

… Could it be?

Ridiculous imaginings of Dan professing his undying and non-existent love for Ross in the form of a perfectly worded and cloyingly sweet speech popped into his mind, and Ross mentally pushed them back. ‘Oh?’ 

‘Um… Uh...’

Ross felt like he was dying on the inside. ‘Yeah, Danny? I’m listening.’

‘... Do… Do you, uh… Do you… Have… Any… Tips… For falling asleep? I, uh, really can’t sleep.’

Fucking-

Ross laughed despite the disappointment seeping into his chest.‘You’re asking me out of all people? You know how well I sleep!’

Dan was laughing as well. ‘You don’t sleep, Ross. Oh, damn it, you’re right, I should’ve called someone else.’

Ross’ eyes widened. He couldn’t lose Dan’s attention now that he had it. ‘Uh, n-no! Uh, I can help! I know a thing or two about how the sleep cycle works. Um,’ he crossed his left leg over his right, a focused look coming to his face as he racked his brain for ideas, ‘Is this a one off thing?’

‘No, I’ve been having insomnia since recently.’

‘Do you know anything that could have triggered it?’

‘Nope.’

‘Could be stress then. Time to get a professional massage, if you know what I mean.’

Dan made a noise of displeasure and Ross laughed. ‘I can’t just call someone up right now and ask them for a massage, it’s too late- Wait, yes I can. But no, Ross. No. Do you have any other instant fixes?’ 

‘How about a warm bath?’

‘Done.’

‘Listening to jazz or some shit?’

‘Tried listening to a waterfall, ended up listening to Muse.’

‘Chamomile tea?’

‘Of course! And it didn’t help either.’

Ross chewed on his lip, his mind almost spent of ideas.

Almost.

He had one more, but it was a little absurd and childish and Dan would probably reject it immediately. But then again...

‘Okay, I know I’m gonna sound ridiculous, but how about if I read you a story?’

There was silence on Dan’s end, and Ross giggled nervously. ‘Like the good old days when you were a child and your mother or father read you a bedtime story, Danny! You know?’

More silence.

‘... Your parents did read you bedtime stories, ri-’

‘I’m down with it.’

‘What?’

‘Read me a motherfucking bedtime story, you son of a bitch.’

Ross gaped, then smiled, and he slowly lifted himself up from his mattress before making his way to his laptop. ‘Okay! Okay. Uh, how about you make another cup of chamomile tea- add milk this time, and I’ll look up some stories on the internets while you're doing that?’

He could hear Dan moving around on his end. ‘Oh, okay! Cool, will do. What sort of story are you gonna read to me, Ross?’

Ross grinned as he awkwardly typed “fairy tales” on his keyboard, free hand still holding the mic to his mouth. ‘Metaphysic study papers?’

Dan groaned. ‘I get enough of that from Brian.’

‘Scary urban legends?’

‘Please, no.’

‘Fanfiction of us?’

‘Ross!’

Ross cackled as he finally sat on the chair at his desk. ‘I’m joking. I’m gonna read The Adventures of Pinocchio. Tell me when you’re ready.’

If only Ross was there with Dan to see the big, tired smile on his face as he leaned over his stove, waiting for the milk to boil.

-

Originally, Ross had intended Steam Train to be a way to get to know Dan better and to strengthen bonds with the man, but one thing led to another, and eventually everyone else but Dan was on Steam Train, covering for the singer who never seemed to get a break. It wasn’t necessarily a bad thing- Barry and Suzy were finally getting the attention they long deserved, and playing games with Arin was fun, but Ross would be lying if he said that he didn’t miss Dan’s once constant presence on the show.

He would also be lying if he said that he wasn’t jealous of Arin and Dan’s now inseparable friendship. Every time Ross saw Dan hugging Arin or Arin snuggling up with Dan on the couch or the two just being around each other, he could feel a proverbial green-eyed monster nibbling away at his heart, because he knew he would never be able to reach the closeness those two held.

Ross knew he was being selfish. He knew that Dan still cared for him. But God, all he wanted was for for him to take Ross more seriously, for him to pay more attention to Ross, for him to perhaps return the hugs Ross gave him with just as much heart as Ross put into them. It wasn’t a lot to ask for, but it was more than enough for Ross.

As if on cue, warm arms wrapped around Ross’ torso, and he froze and lifted his stinging and slightly blurry eyes from the cup of tea in front of him to the person behind him.

Dan was smiling, his chin resting on Ross’ shoulder.

Was God real?

(Of course, spoke a voice in Ross’ mind. He’s hugging you right now.)

 

‘Hey, buddy,’ Dan greeted quietly.

Ross gave him a weak smile. ‘H- hey.’

‘Anything wrong?’

‘Uh, no. Why?’

Dan’s dark eyes look down at the cup of tea. ‘Well, you were all frowny and misty eyed and staring into space, and you were stirring your tea there for a good two minutes, so I figured something was up.’

Ross felt his face flushing and his eyes stinging even more, and he mentally threatened himself to not lose it then and there.

‘Uhh, uh, I… No, everything’s alright. Just… Thinking about deep shit, y’know?’ He beamed at Dan, but the man doesn’t look convinced.

‘Deep shit, huh? What sort of deep shit?’

Ross shruged, and he took the spoon out of the cup. ‘Oh, you know… Nothing. Something. Everything.’

‘Too many things?’

Ross nodded and smiled at Dan’s concerned face. ‘Yeah.’

Dan’s loose grip around Ross tightens. ‘As per usual of you,’ he muttered quietly, eyes temporarily avoiding Ross’ gaze. ‘Hey, if you ever need to talk to someone, I’m here for you, okay? You know how much I hate sad Ross.’

Ross’ heart feels like it’s about to burst at this point, and he smiles and tentatively raised his hands to squeeze at the tall man’s forearms. ‘Thanks, Dan.’ 

Dan smiled back. ‘No problem.’

And as soon as he says that, he disappears as quickly as he had came, the warmth he’s left behind being the only proof of his presence. Ross’ head turned, eyes darting around the office, and upon noticing no one witnessed what just happened, he smiled to himself and took a sip from the cup of tea.

He must be dreaming...

-

After what seems like ten million years, Ross and Dan were finally going to play on Steam Train together. Even better was that they were playing an indie game together, the best kind of game.

So imagine how Ross felt when he came to face the blue screen of death on the recording laptop.

‘It’s like Castle Crashers all over again,’ Ross half-wailed. His form was hunched over the laptop, eyes wide and fingers pressed to his temples. ‘I even brought my slankets and everything,’ he muttered.

Dan laughed and rubbed his shoulder reassuringly. ‘Aww, Ross, I’m so sorry.’

Ross turned to Dan and shook his head. ‘ ‘s not your fault.’

‘I know it isn’t, Ross. It’s just… When you make a face like that, I feel like someone’s gotta apologise, y’know?’

Dan’s ultimate achilles heel was seeing a sad Ross, he knew this well, so Ross constantly abused this weakness of his whenever possible, and right now was no exception.

Ross turned away from Dan whining and pouting, and when he heard Dan “awwing” all the more and felt the man pulling him into a hug from behind, his miserable facade slipped, a bright grin coming in its place.

‘Nooo, Ross,’ Dan drawled, resting his forehead in between Ross’ shoulderblades, ‘you’re not allowed to be sad.’

Ross turned around and returned the hug with even more fervor, resting his head on his shoulder, eyes slipping shut. ‘Thanks, Danny. But we’re gonna have to play, like, a quarter of the game all over again, and just… Ugh...’

Dan ruffled Ross’ hair before breaking the hug (to Ross’ disappointment) and jumping up from the couch. He pulled out his phone and earbuds from his jean pockets. ‘That can wait, but for now...’

Ross looked on with curiosity as he watched Dan untangle the mess of wires. What was he planning?

Plugging the jack into the phone and popping an earbud into his left ear, Dan reached out to Ross, the other earbud in his hand. He grinned and bowed a little. ‘May I have this dance?’

A happy little gasp escaped from Ross and he promptly covered his mouth, a blush creeping along his cheeks. His head turned left, then right, and then he looked over his shoulder, and Dan laughed.

‘What the fuck are you doing?’

Ross turned back to Dan with a sheepish smile. ‘Checking to see if you were talking to anyone else.’

Smiling, Dan beckoned Ross with his still outstretched hand, and Ross happily complied, popping the earbud into his own left ear before grabbing Dan’s hand.

Dan leaned back and pulled him off the couch and into a lose half-embrace, half-dancing position, the hand holding the phone resting on his back, the other hand holding Ross’ , and he rested his head against Ross’, lips almost touching his ear. ‘Shall we start?’

Ross stiffened, his blush deepening. The most gorgeous man in the world was in his arms, and they were going to dance together, and he could feel the warmth of his breath tickling his neck, and Ross could smell him, and his scent was spicy, and oh God-

‘Ross?’

‘Uh!’ Ross froze mid-inhale as Dan lifted his head off his shoulder to peer down at him questioningly. ‘Yeah?’

‘Shall we start?’

Ross nodded and hummed, and Dan tapped the play button.

The sound of an electric guitar fills Ross’ ear, and as soon as it fades out into a smooth, dreamy sounding synth line he’s moving with Dan to the slow beat of the music, the two smiling shyly as they wound themselves around the floor of the the recording room.

And any nervous tension in Ross’ shoulders departs when Dan starts quietly singing along in that beautiful voice of his.

‘City and desert co-exist, depending on the things you’re wearing...’  
Ross’ head quickly bowed down to see what he had on (his newest sweater already had a tea stain, damn it) before Dan tilted his chin back up with his fingers with a grin, and his feet changed directions, bringing Ross with him.

‘Wildlife binoculars… Tell me that you want me, tell me that you want me...’

Dan leaned in towards Ross, and his smile quivered.

‘They teach you suffer to resist… Too much intention Presbyterian...’

‘What?’

Dan shook his head and laughed a little with Ross before continuing.

‘Mint julep testosterone… Tell me that you want me, tell me that you want me...’

If only.

‘Cool, I’m just trying to be cool...’ Dan breaks from their close position to tap Ross’ chest with his pointer finger before taking hold of Ross’ hand again. ‘It’s all because of you...’

Ross averted Dan’s gaze to look to the side, embarrassment rippling over him.

‘Some fanatic attitude, we’re both on...’

At this point, it occurs to Ross that Dan cannot dance to save the life of him, and he just has to interrupt him to tell him this.

Dan tilted his head and swayed to the side, breaking their close contact yet again, and Ross doesn’t fail to notice that Dan entwined his fingers in Ross’ while he does this. ‘Excuse me?’

‘You can’t dance for shit, son,’ Ross repeated.

Dan draws his head back and looked at Ross in mock insult. ‘Here I am, kind enough to offer you a dance when you’re feeling all down in the dumps, and then you decide to go insulting me. Jeez, Ross, harsh.’

Ross poked his tongue out. ‘Maybe because you invited me to a dance, and then you can’t dance?’

Dan just laughs continues to shuffle clumsily around the room, bringing Ross with him.

‘Two dozen pink and white ranunculus… Why, what are the problems to solve?’

‘Your inability to dance.’

Dan laughs and pulls him in, their chests thumping together, and he looms over Ross in an almost menacing way, shaky grin included.

‘To part-time holy bachelors, tell them that you want me, tell them that you want me...’

Ross looked down at the floor, trying desperately to hide his embarrassed face, but Dan pinched his cheek painfully and Ross looked back up at Dan with a glare.

‘Cool, I’m just trying to be cool… It’s all because of you...’

Dan was looking at Ross in a way that sent chills creeping up his arms and legs and back, and at this point, he couldn’t tell if this was a joke or not, and he couldn’t tell if he wanted this to be a joke or not.

‘Open for business says it all, you can’t go wrong… Compliments sound too cynical where you’re from...’

Almost nothing in this song made sense to Ross. Still, he and Dan were dancing together, so that’s what counts.

‘Tell me that you want me, tell me that what they want is gruesome… I don’t care where you’re from...’

Dan returns to the position they were in at the start, hand on back and breath hitting neck and everything as he sways from side to side slowly.

‘There is no physical evidence of cannibal boyfriends...’

Ross yelped and pulled back, and Dan chortled. 

‘Wh-what the fuck?!’

Dan smiles ‘He’s talking about not leaving hickeys on parts of her skin that will be exposed, Ross, he’s not actually eating her.’

Ross shook his head. ‘This song doesn’t make any sense...’

‘Probably because you’re not good at reading in between the lines,’ Dan muttered before drawing Ross back into a hug, restarting their swaying “dance.”

‘Why don’t you tell me that you want it, tell me that you want it all...’

His face was dangerously close now, their noses almost bumping, and he was smiling in that way that made Ross’ heart explode every single time, and dear God did Ross want to tell him that he wanted it all, but…

But…

The song had ended for a few seconds already, but Dan was still holding his very, very close position with Ross. Cute smile ever present, he tilted his head to the side. ‘That cheer you up?’

Oh, right. He started this whole thing because Ross was feeling down in the dumps about having lost the episodes.

Ross nodded and handed back his earbud, and Dan took out his own before returning his hand to Ross’ shoulder for some unknown reason. ‘Uh, uh, yeah,’ he swallowed, ‘It was a very, uh, cool song! Heh heh, get it? Uh.’

Dan giggled and shook his head. ‘God, your puns are getting worse as time goes by. Well, puns, for a lack of a better word for… Whatever the hell you say on a daily basis.’

‘Looks like that’s the only part of me that’s aging, heh heh.’

Dan shook his head again, but this time he dropped the mirth, mumbling, ‘Now if only your maturity matched your age...’

Ross narrowed his eyes, and Dan laughed, and then the room was silent again.

Now would be a great time to confess, wouldn’t it? With Dan in his arms, while the room was dimmed with a blueish glow from the outside windows, confessing after a semi-romantic, semi-joking, mostly uncomfortable dance…

‘Hey, Danny, I’m really fucking thirsty,’ Ross voiced, and Dan gave him a look as if to say, “Well, why the fuck are you telling me?”

He gave Dan a deadpan look and finally dropped his arms from Dan’s body. ‘I need to you free me so that I can get anywhere,’ he explained, and Dan “ohhed” and released the younger man from his clutches, and Ross promptly sped-walked the hell out of there, not looking back to see Dan’s reaction.

A shame he didn’t, because he would’ve seen the disappointment on Dan’s features as he’s left without the words he wants to hear.

-

It’s been a few weeks, and by now, one would think that Ross has noticed Dan’s advances, from his late and long text message conversations at night, to going out to the movies, just the two of them, and Dan not so subtly putting his arm around Ross. But nope, the man was denser than ever, either taking the moves as friendly or just blushing and mumbling and not being a help in general.

Still, Dan wasn’t going to let up yet, not when when hasn’t got the closure he needs.

He was in deep.

-

It was a brisk night, the chilly, still air nipping at Ross’ exposed face as he and Dan walk side by side along the quiet neighbourhood streets, and there were almost no stars in the navy blue ceiling that hung above Glendale, the odd one or two flickering and barely seen through the smog and light pollution that infamously plagues the Los Angeles area.

Ross shivered and drew the coat around his shoulders tighter. He regrets not bringing an extra layer of clothing with himself. He especially regrets not changing into an outfit that was warmer and more appropriate than his pajamas. He should’ve known that it was going to be cold outside- it was a winter’s evening, of course it was going to be cold.

Dan turned to look at Ross’ shivering form with concern. ‘You okay there?’

‘No!’

Dan’s gaze softened, and he threw his arm around Ross’ shoulder and pulled him into a side hug. ‘Trying to share the body heat,’ he explained.

Ross smiled and leaned into the warmth of the hug, his head resting against Dan’s shoulder. ‘You’re warmer than I thought you would be,’ he mumbled.

‘Why, is it because I’m skinny?’

Ross nodded. ‘Mm.’

Dan shook his head and looked the other way. ‘Psshh. I grew up in a cold climate for a long period of time, Ross, I’m used to it.’ He then turned back to look down at Ross, and his arm dropped to Ross’ waist, drawing him in further. ‘What was Australia like?’

Shrugging, Ross snuggled further into the hug. ‘The weather? Well, unless if you live in Tasmania and Queensland, it’s hot and dry and kinda sucks balls for a lot of the time. Back in Perth, it got really hot in the summer, and when it was winter it was barely cold. The autumn’s pretty, though.’

Dan nodded. ‘I see. I have no idea what some of those places are, but I see.’

‘... Which places?’

‘All of them other than the Australia bit.’

Ross glared up at Dan, mutterd something about him being a close-minded, uneducated American, and Dan glared back and brought his arm up around Ross’ neck and ground his fist into his hair before returning back to his former position of side-hugging Ross. ‘Don’t blame me for our shit education,’ Dan laughed.

Ross stuck his tongue out and smiled back. ‘Fucking public schooler. More like pubic schooler, amiright?’

‘Ross, honestly...’

Several silent minutes pass between the two men, their minds preoccupied with thoughts and dreams and observations of their street lamp-lit surroundings.

Ross, in particular, was wondering why Dan brought him on this walk (although, he sort of had a hunch as to why he did bring him,) and he voiced his question out loud.

Dan shrugged. ‘Just needed some fresh air.’

‘But you didn’t have to bring me.’

He shrugged again. ‘I felt like bringing you.’

Ross grinned cheekily at this. ‘Liar, liar, pants on fire, you didn’t bring me because you felt like it, Danny!’

Dan was stuttering, “uhhhhs” and “ummms” flying out of his mouth, and Ross grinned all the more. He had him now.

‘You brought me becauuuse…’ Ross paused for dramatic effect, and watched Dan fall silent, his adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed. ‘You’re afraid of the dark, obviously, and you needed someone to escort you like the total scardey cat you are.’

It takes a few moments for Dan to process this, and he slowly nods, looking away to the side. ‘Uh, yeah, totally.’

Ross grinned. That was totally not the reason why he brought him here, he knew this, he just really, really liked unnerving Dan. 

‘Also, where exactly are we going?’

Dan turned to smile down at Ross. ‘You’ll see.’

They walked, and walked, and eventually they reach the wooden fencing around the steep slope of their local lookout that oversees houses scattered across a depression in the land, with much bigger, greener hills lining the land in the distance.

Leaning against the fence, Ross scanned the scenic view in front of him, a sigh escaping his mouth in the form of an icy cloud. Almost all the houses in front of them had their lights on, radiating a warm looking glow, and the hills were darker than ever, almost eerie and matching the cold atmosphere unlike the houses below.

‘Pretty, right?’

Ross’ eyes flick briefly and nervously over to Dan, who, too, is leaning against the fence, looking dreamily at the sight below.

This feels awfully familiar.

‘Yeah,’ Ross finally answered, nodding.

‘They kinda remind me of fireflies.’

Ross hoped Dan didn’t see him jump a little. He recovered quickly and grinned at the older man. ‘Fireflies that don’t fly?’

Dan grinned back. ‘Fireflies that don’t fly, that don’t move...’

‘That aren’t flies or on fire.’

‘Precisely,’ Dan says, and they smiled between each other and turned back to the scene below them.

This was too beautiful.

But he wasn’t dreaming, right?

Looking in the opposite direction, Ross’ hand hesitantly reached out towards Dan’s, his fingertips skimming over the back of the other’s hand, and Dan seemed to get the message, because Ross felt him thread his fingers in between his own and pulling them together before resting their hands back on top of the fence.

Ross smiled, his face heating up. He could actually feel the warmth of Dan’s hand in his own. 

This was far better than any dream he’s ever had.

His head turned to the man standing beside him, and he opened his mouth to say what he should have said a long time ago, but nothing came out, and his head turned back around, his jaw shutting.

Any time now.

He tried some deep breaths, focused, and tried again, turning around and attempting to speak, but like before, nothing came out, and he deflated and turned back.

It couldn’t be this difficult. For fuck’s sake, they were holding hands, this was the perfect time to tell him that he cared about him in a way that reached past the “friendship” boundaries.

Ross turned around a third time, but this time Dan turned around as well, and their eyes met, and they gaped and stuttered. 

‘Uh.’

‘Uh.’

Dan giggled. ‘Hey Ross, how’s it going?’

Ross smiled back. ‘Not bad, you?’

‘Not bad, not bad.’ 

They flushed and looked down at the ground before Dan spoke again. ‘You can go first.’

‘No, it’s okay, you can go first.’

‘No, you go first.’

‘No, you.’

Dan grinned and, as if reminding Ross that they were holding hands together, stroked his thumb over his. ‘Ross, seriously.’

Ross sighed and turned to face the scene below him. Some lights had been turned off, the odd dark patch in the still bright glow almost irritating.

‘Dan.’

‘Yeah?’

‘I love you.’

Dan stroked his thumb over Ross’ again. ‘I know,’ he replied quietly.

Ross could physically feel his soul ascending to heaven.

‘... For how long?’

‘Ever since the day you slept in the office.’

Ross’ lips parted, and he turned to look at Dan, confusement clear in his eyes. ‘But- but I thought you said you couldn’t understand what I was saying.’

Dan smiled back, but his gaze didn’t meet Ross’. ‘That was a lie.’

‘You… You mean-’

‘Well, okay, it was a half truth. Like, at first, you were speaking gibberish and I thought you were possessed or some shit, and I was like, “Welp! This is the end for Ross. Better step away before the demon possesses me too.”’

Ross cackled at this, and Dan grinned.

‘And then you said, “Dan, I’m dreaming,” And I was like, “Shit, he’s self aware too!”’

‘God forbid someone be possessed and self aware.’

Dan nods. ‘I know, right? The worst. Anyway, I almost actually backed away by then, because I felt like I was eavesdropping on your dream somehow, and I felt dirty, but then you said, in the quietest of voices, “Dan, I love you.”’

Ross turned his attention to their entwined hands. ‘Did anyone else hear?’

‘No way,’ Dan answered. ‘I barely even heard it. But I heard it. And I didn’t really know what to think at first, because you could’ve been having a dream having a dream where you just happened to be in love with me, but then I remembered that you told me that you could lucid dream, and I was like, “Shit, what if he really did mean it?” So I decided to, uh, try some things things out on you.’

Ross’ eyes returned to Dan’s face, and they narrowed. ‘You mean, all the hugging and the late night texts and that time you danced with me… All of that was you trying to see if I had a crush on you?’

‘Well, I didn’t plan on the dancing part. Or the excessive amount of hugging part. Or most of it, really. You know that time I called you up at, like, one in the morning because I couldn’t sleep?’

‘Yeaaahhh?’

‘Well, I couldn’t sleep because I couldn’t stop thinking about what I should do. So I decided to ring you up and ask if you did love me.’

‘But you didn’t ask.’

Dan smiled. ‘Yeah. Turns out I’m just as bad as asking you if you have a crush on me as you are telling me that you do.’

Ross pouted. Asking someone if they had a crush on you was far easier than confessing.

‘Hey, Ross?’

Ross nodded and hummed.

‘What were you really dreaming about?’

Ross smiled and readjusted his position, crossing one leg behind the other. ‘Well, like I said, I was lying in a field in the middle of nowhere, and it was night, and there were many stars in the sky, and there were fireflies, and I think it was hot? The weather? It seemed hot.’

Dan “oohed.” ‘Sounds purty.’

‘It was,’ Ross agreed with a nod of his head. ‘And, spoiler alert, you were there with me.’

Dan grinned and “oohed” all the more and Ross’ cheeks began to burn.

‘And, well, you said it was pretty, and I asked you which part of it was pretty, and-’

‘- Did I say you?’ 

‘Yeah, as well as everything else that was going on.’

Grinning, Dan flicked his curly hair back and ran his free hand through it. ‘Smooth.’

‘And I could tell it was a dream, so I thought, fuck it, I’m going to confess and see what happens.’

‘And what happened?’

Ross’ face is probably pink enough to see in the gloom in the dark now. He looked down bashfully. ‘You said you loved me too.’

He felt Dan squeeze his hand once more, and Ross turned to face him. ‘Dan?’

‘Yeah?’

‘... Do you love me?’

Dan grinned and answered by raising Ross’ hand up to his lips and pressing a kiss to his pointer finger, and Ross was amazed that he hadn’t toppled over by now from the overwhelming shock and joy surging through him.

‘Dan.’

Dan tilted his head, looking kindly upon Ross. ‘Yeah?’

‘ ‘m cold.’

Dan’s hand grasped onto Ross’ wrist, and pulled the shorter man into the warmest hug Ross had ever felt, and they smiled, Ross resting his head against Dan’s chest and Dan resting his head on top of Ross’, and they embraced there on top of the lookout, watching the lights below them turn off one by one.

**Author's Note:**

> So, it turns out that hoshizora means, "starry sky" in Japanese. Who knew?! Well, I knew the "starry" part, and I should've known the "sky" part... All these As in Japanese amounting to nothing...
> 
> This fic was partly inspired by many things, one of them being an episode in We Love Katamari where Arin had to roll up a bunch of fireflies. The music was romantic and didn't quite fit, but I loved it.
> 
> It's also partly inspired by my own dreams, because I'm very vain. I think the best/worst dream I've ever had was when I had to kill Tom Hiddleston because he was hunting me down, and I was aware that I was dreaming, so I remembered super powers I had from past dreams and used telekinesis to pick up a tanker and put it on top of his house and set it on fire, but for some reason I thought he was still after me, so I teleported all the way over to the Himalayas and ended up with a bowl of noodles in my hand. It was a good dream, because I was fucking awesome in it, but it was bad, because I killed Tom, and that's not nice.


End file.
